


Dirty Paws

by wings_g_leviosa



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:46:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wings_g_leviosa/pseuds/wings_g_leviosa
Summary: “Come on, puppy. Let’s get upstairs.”“Puppy? I thought nicknames were my thing?”(Based on the short film of the same name)





	Dirty Paws

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I decided to take a bit of a break from Heart Songs to write this little one-shot. I've been wanting to do a werewolf au forever, and I hope you guys like it. Please leave comments and kudos!
> 
> Also, this is based on an adorable animated short film (also titled "Dirty Paws"), so go give it a watch on YouTube!
> 
> (P.S. I've been considering a vampire!Eddie au for a while, so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in!)

The early morning sun was soft and bright and just a little warm, and Eddie relished the feeling of it on his skin. His eyes opened slowly, taking in his surroundings. 

 

He was in his bedroom, the sun casting lines across his walls through the blinds. The clock on the wall read 8:04. He sighed deeply, turning to look at the lump of blankets next to him on the bed. Eddie could barely make out a tuft of curly dark hair poking out the top of the covers, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing indicated he was still asleep. Eddie scooted closer, curling himself around the lump of blankets, burrowing his nose into its neck. 

 

“Rich, you awake?” Eddie asked softly, barely above a whisper. Richie groaned, pressing himself a little closer.

 

“No. Never in a million years.”

 

Eddie sighed, running a soothing hand across Richie’s arm. He placed a gentle kiss to the juncture between Richie’s shoulder and neck. 

 

“We need to start getting ready. You know what day it is.”

 

Richie groaned, and rolled over right onto Eddie, wrapping his lanky arms around him tightly. 

 

“I’d rather stay here, I think. Staying in bed sounds good.”

 

Eddie pushed him off, sitting up and looking. Richie was trying to burrow further into the blankets, hiding his face away in a pillow. Eddie managed to untangle part of him from the duvet and flip him onto his back. 

 

“We need to shower and go over the plan for tonight. Make sure everything goes perfect.”

 

Richie’s eyes remained closed, and his brow furrowed. He finally peeled them open, one by one, eyelids drooping and bruises deep beneath dark brown pools. He must not have gotten sleep the night before. 

 

“We’ve done this a thousand times. I don’t know what else there is to change,” Richie groaned in slight protest. Eddie ran a wandering finger across his collar bone.

 

“You got out last time. I don’t want to have to buy another coffee table.”

 

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to get one with a glass top. That’s just asking to be broken.”

 

Eddie let out a small chuckle, a breathy little thing. He pulled Richie’s hand from behind his head and slotted his own between his fingers. His thumb ran soothing circles across Richie’s. 

 

“Let’s go shower, yeah? It’ll be a rough night, so lets start by having a good day.”

 

Richie sighed, but let Eddie lead him with him into the warm spray of water. Eddie normally wouldn’t be as patient with Richie dragging his feet, but he knew that night would be hard on them. It didn’t help that Richie wasn’t acting like himself; it scared Eddie how tired and muted he became on the full moon. He faced Richie in the shower, letting water run soothingly over them. His eyes, usually a dark brown, we’re already beginning to turn a little blond. By the time night rolled around, they’d be a reflective yellow. Richie slowly bent to burrow his face into Eddie’s neck, arms holding him tightly as though he’d vanish. Eddie held him back. 

 

Breakfast was easier. They joked and drank coffee. Bev came over with Ben around lunch with sandwiches and a large coil of silver chain. Them, along with Mike, Bill, and Stan were the only ones who knew about Richie’s ‘problem’. 

 

By the time they left, it was evening, the sun beginning to sink low in the sky. Eddie paused washing dishes to look down at Richie, who sat on the floor with his back to the cabinets. He had a finger prodding at his teeth, cringing in discomfort. 

 

“Now?” Eddie asked, clinging to the towel he was drying his hands with. Richie just looked at him, his eyes yellow and his canines enlarged. They were almost long enough to poke comically over his bottom lip. Eddie offered him a hand, pulling him to his feet with little effort. 

 

“Come on, puppy. Let’s get upstairs.”

 

“Puppy? I thought nicknames were my thing?” Richie chuckled. Eddie smiled, glad to hear the sound. 

 

“I think it’s fitting.”

 

“Don’t patronize me, Spaghetti Man.”

 

Richie gripped tight to Eddie’s hand, allowing him to lead him to the attic. 

 

With the chain Bev had brought earlier, Eddie very carefully looped them around Richie, connecting him to the radiator beneath the window. Richie grimaced at the cold metal against his arms. 

 

“Seriously, silver? Bev wasn’t kidding, was she?” he said through slightly gritted teeth. 

 

“We just want to make sure you don’t get out. You could get hurt.”

 

The  _ other people could get hurt  _ went unsaid. 

 

“Do you need me to put down a pillow or something?”

 

“No, I’m fi-“ The rest of his sentence was cut off by an involuntary, throaty growl. Eddie placed a gentle hand on his face, and pressed a fleeting kiss to the tip of his nose. 

 

“I’ll be downstairs. Holler if you need anything.” Richie nods, yellow eyes reflecting the low light. 

 

Eddie flopped himself down on the couch, book in hand. He opened to his last page, scanning the words in front of him, but not taking in any of them. All he could think of was Richie upstairs, chained up like an animal. Like a  _ monster.  _

 

In the three years since Richie had been bitten, the hardest part was always leaving him alone in the attic. The first time was the worst, the night ending with both of them crying; Eddie refused to leave Richie, which lead to him getting a sizable gash across his back. Luckily, the wound was too shallow to cause any lasting damage, but the scar remained white and raised. Since then, they took every precaution to keep them both safe during the full moon. 

 

But, inevitably, there was always an issue. 

 

From his spot on the couch, Eddie could hear Richie’s whines and cries, sounding more dog than human. It sounded a little on the painful side. 

 

“Leave him be. He’s fine. It’s fine,” Eddie whispered to himself, covering his ears with a pillow. That only lasted for so long before he was making his way back to the attic. 

 

He heard Richie before he saw him. His growls and whines echoed around the empty space. He was a mass of dark, matted hair, and when he turned to Eddie, he could count two rows of gleaming white fangs. Eddie crossed his arms and flopped on the ground, sitting in front of Richie. He growled, tugging against the chains. 

 

“Just shut up already. Snarling will get you literally nowhere.”

 

Richie abruptly stopped, snarl disappearing only to be replaced by wide, staring eyes. The same ones that Eddie has grown to love. He sighed and scooted closer, reaching up to tangle his fingers in the fur of Richie face, resting his forehead against the cold, wet nose of his snout. 

 

“I’m sorry, love.”

 

Richie whined, trying in vain to push himself closer to Eddie. It was only then that Eddie looked down at the chains looped through dark fur. He knew that silver and werewolves didn’t mix, and that silver bullets were one of the only things that would for sure kill one. But he didn’t expect to see that even touching it would burn them. He could see angry red skin beneath the chains, and his heart leapt into his throat. 

 

“Oh no, it’s hurting you isn’t it?” 

 

Richie only let out a low cry in response. It was that moment that Eddie was faced with two choices: he could either set Richie free, or let the silver burn him even worse. He sighed, rubbing a gentle hand across what would have been Richie’s cheek. 

 

“Look, I’m going to get the old chains from downstairs. Until then, I’ll let you go. Just for a minute. Don’t move.”

 

Eddie made quick work of unchaining Richie, before scurrying downstairs to the basement. He dug around, looking for the telltale glint of metal in the semi darkness. As soon as he found it, however, there was a large crash from upstairs. He raced back up the attic. 

 

The dropping of chains to the ground was the only sound besides the whistling of wind through the broken window. The pane had been shattered nearly completely; only a few straggling pieces remained attached to the frame. Upon closer inspection, there was a red tinge to the edges, likely from Richie forcing himself through. Eddie sighed and wiped a hand across his face.

 

He didn’t have to think twice before he called Bev. 

 

“What do you mean he got out?” she nearly hollered. Eddie sighed as he worked to hang a blanket over the broken window. 

 

“Well, the silver was burning him. I told him to stay put so I could get the other ones, but he’d already broken through the window by the time I got up here. What do I do, Bev?”

 

She sighed loudly, and he could vaguely hear Ben saying something in the background. 

 

“I’ll call the others. We’ll look around for him in all the usual places. You know him best, so I’d get to looking if I were you.”

 

“Right, right. I’ll let you know if I find anything. Thank you.”

 

“No problem. Just bring our boy back.”

 

Eddie nodded, hanging up as he grabbed his coat and opened the door. He was immediately taken aback by the sight of an orange cat, mangled and bloody nearly beyond recognition, lying on his doorstep. He held his breath and looked around, before grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and tossing it into the nearest bush. Richie was really going to get it; if Eddie found him, that was. He bundled his coat tighter around himself as he began his trek to the woods near their subdivision. 

 

He was so full of his own thoughts, he almost didn’t hear someone calling his name. 

 

“Eddie, hey! Eddie!” He turned to see his neighbor from down the way, Greta Keene. Eddie had little patience for her, but forced himself to be pleasant.

 

“Hey Greta.”

 

“What are you doing out here so late? It’s nearly ten.”

 

Eddie placed a nervous hand to the back of his neck.

 

“Oh, y’know, my, er… dog got out. I’m trying to find him.”

 

Greta hummed, setting down the recycling bin she held in her hands.

 

“You might want to be careful. Something around here is killing pets. Luckily my cat’s too smart to get caught.”

 

Eddie thought back to the dead cat he had concealed in his bushes, and blanched. 

 

“Well, I better get to finding him in that case.” With that he sped off, not giving Greta the chance to question him any longer. 

 

His cheeks smarted against the cold wind, ruffling his hair and drying his eyes. He rubbed his nose as he reached the edge of the forest, looking down at the slope he was becoming all too familiar with. He slid down, the soles of his sneakers scraping the cold ground. He landed, shaking the dirt off him. Eddie squinted in the low light, looking for any sign of Richie. He began a slow trek, keeping his steps light and his eyes peeled. He started to notice small breakages in the tree branches and large paw prints in the slightly soft dirt. He was definitely on the right track. 

 

“Richie! Richie, I know you’re here!” he called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. He was really starting to get cold now, and really wanted to go home. Just as the thought occurred to him, he heard a low howl, coming from up ahead. He began to run toward the noise, nearly sure it was Richie. 

 

Sure enough, there he was, a black mass of fur sitting in the middle of a clearing.

 

“Jesus, there you are.”

 

Richie turned suddenly, nose sniffing the air and eyes reflecting the moonlight. He let out a sad little sound when he saw Eddie, and for a moment Eddie felt sorry for him. Then he remembered the broken window and the dead cat and the cold all around them, and his annoyance returned tenfold. 

 

“Are you serious, Rich? After I specifically told you to stay put? I can’t believe you! And now I have to listen to Greta talk about her cat going missing. You don’t have to hunt for me. We have plenty of food at home.” Richie got an odd look across his face, but Eddie was too far gone to really notice. The more he spoke, the more steps he took toward the werewolf. “And now I’m out here in the cold, scared to death because I couldn’t find you. You can’t just keep scaring me like th-”

 

Eddie never got to finish because he was suddenly thrown on his back. He expected to feel the hot breath of a dog against his face, and his heart froze in terror. But it never came. Instead, all he heard was Richie’s soft cries a few feet away. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Richie lying near where Eddie had been standing just moments ago, leg caught in the jaws of a bear trap. 

 

_ He was protecting me. He saved me. _

 

The guilt immediately settled into Eddie’s stomach, but he shook it off in favor of running to Richie’s side. He tried in vain to wrestle the trap back down, but the cold and the shock were working against him. 

 

“I’m going to call the others. Hang tight, okay?” Eddie said gently, placing a soft hand just above the wound. He pulled his phone out and called Bill. 

 

“Hello?”

 

“Bill, its Eddie. I found Richie, but he’s stuck in a bear trap. I can’t get him out.”

 

Eddie felt the tell-tale sting of tears beginning to prick at his eyes, but he wiped them away.

 

“Oh, okay. I’m with M-mike, he’ll be able to get him out.”

 

“Alright, thank you. We’re in the forest. I’ll call the others.”

 

He quickly hung up and dialed Bev’s number for the second time that night. 

 

“Bev, we’re in the forest. I found Richie, but he’s real hurt. Bill and Mike are on the way.”

 

“Oh thank God. You’re in the forest. Okay. I think Stan is with Bill, but I’ll check just to be sure. Wait, you said Richie is hurt?”

 

Eddie swallowed hard, petting small circles into Richie’s fur. 

 

“Yeah, its a… bear trap? I think?”

 

Bev let out a small sound somewhere between hurt and surprise.

 

“Oh honey, how bad is it?”

 

“Well, it’s not great.” He looked at Richie who was desperately leaning into Eddie’s touch. “I think he’ll live, though. Just get everyone here soon.”

 

“Aye, aye, captain.”

The line ended with a click, leaving deafening silence in its wake. Eddie turned to Richie, and scooted closer to put Richie’s head on his lap. 

 

“I’m sorry I yelled. I’m sorry you got hurt because I didn’t notice the stupid trap.” He leaned down to press a gentle kiss to the tip of Richie’s ear. “I’m just really sorry.”

 

Richie just closed his eyes and pushed himself closer. Even though he couldn’t speak, Eddie could imagine he was trying to convey forgiveness. Or something like that. And they sat like that, silent but not alone, until the others arrived. 

 

Mike and Ben both pulled on the trap to free Richie’s leg, revealing the wound to be less serious than Eddie had thought. He guessed werewolf legs were made of stronger stuff than the average animal. They walked back to Eddie and Richie’s house in a pack, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone who might spot Richie. 

 

It wasn’t until they were alone with the door securely locked that Eddie finally felt like he could breathe. He deposited Richie on the couch and rummaged around the bathroom for any bandages and cleaning supplies. He found several gauze pads, as well as a roll of bandage and some soothing/ cleaning ointment. He brought it all downstairs. 

 

“This may sting a little, but these need to be cleaned.” Sure enough, Richie cried and howled as Eddie spread ointment on his leg, as well as the little scrapes from jumping out the window. He began to relax once the bandages were finally in place. 

 

Eddie knew he ought to restrain Richie again, but just the feeling of a snout nuzzling against his thigh broke any resolve he had built up. While he was indeed a monster, Richie was also the man that Eddie loved. He forgot that sometimes. 

 

So, together, they climbed the stairs to their room, Eddie curling up behind Richie like always, pressing his face against the fur of Richie’s back. 

 

When he woke in the morning, Eddie was glad to feel his torso wrapped in very gangly, very human arms. Richie was back to normal, at least for another month. He snuggled back into the warm chest behind him, letting out a content sigh. 

 

“I see you’re finally awake,” Richie said, voice gravelly and barely above a whisper. 

 

“I see you’re finally reigned in. How’d you sleep?”

 

“Pretty great. Better than I would have in the attic.”

 

Eddie untangled from Richie’s grasp, leaning on his elbow to look down at him. Richie’s eyes were always an amazing shade of brown, and they always held this amazing quality when they were alone together. Eddie leaned down to place a kiss to Richie’s lips, placing his hand against his cheek softly. 

 

“I think we need to rethink the way we do this whole werewolf thing. Don’t you?” Eddie asked, running a gentle thumb against Richie’s cheekbone. 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, I don’t think the attic is necessary at this point. I think we can make it work if we try.”

 

Richie paused, seemingly mulling it over. Eddie could practically see the gears turning behind his eyes. 

 

“I mean, if you’re willing to try, I guess we can try.” 

 

Eddie grinned, going in for another languid kiss. Richie couldn’t help but grin too once they pulled apart. 

 

“Hey, let me make breakfast this morning,” he offered. He made to move off the bed, but winced once his feet hit the ground. His foot was still covered from his injury. 

 

Eddie got out of bed and helped him up, leading them downstairs. 

 

“Just shut up, Richie.”


End file.
